Rail-joiner.



.0. U. LUDVIGSEN & r. SVEISTRUP.

RAIL JOINER. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16, 1909.

' Patented July 5, 1910.

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RAIL' JOINER. APPLICATION IILED NOV. 1'6, 1909.

, Patented July 5,1910.

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CHRISTIAN ULBIK LUDVIGSEN AND PETER SVEIS'IRUP, OF PENN YAN, NEW YORK.

RAIL-JOINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 16, 1909.

Patented July 5, 1910. Serial No. 528,365.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHRISTIAN ULRIK LUDVIGSEN and PETER SvEIsrRUP, subjects of the King of Denmark, residing at Penn Yan, in the county of Yates and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joiners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for drawing adjacent railway rails toward each other, and consists of certain specific, novel and useful features of construction hereinafter fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the device shown as applied to the adjacent railway rails, full lines indicating an operative position of the parts and certain dotted lines indicating an open position of one of the jaws; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of one end of the device, partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a part of the device on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line a 4 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a similar view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Throughout the following description and on the several figures of the drawings similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

This invention includes a pair of bodies 10 and 11, movable toward and from each other by operation of a screw 12 having right and left threads on its opposite ends which cooperate with corresponding threads on the bodies. Each of said bodies comprises a neck or shank 13 extending there from on the end opposite the bolt 12 and terminating in a head 14:. Said head is preferably of a short cylindrical form, and the same is intended to directly cooperate with a pair of levers 15 and 16, constituting a gripping jaw adapted to embrace a rail. Each of said levers 15 and 16 comprises a short arm 17 against which the head bears forcibly when the bodies are drawn toward each other through the rotation of the head 12. The levers 15 and 16 are pivoted on a pair of vertical pins 18 passing through an inclosing casing 19. The casing comprises preferably a pair of mating sections 19 and 19 and which substantially inclose the said head and cooperating parts. It will be seen therefore that the body and head will partake of a slight longitudinal movement with respect to the casing in which the jaw levers are pivoted. As indicated in Fig. 3 the upper section 19 of the casing is securely locked from vertical displacement by means of a block 20 secured to the body by means of suitable set screws 21, the block 20 being seated under an extension 22 of the body.

When the device is applied to a pair of rails one pair of jaws or levers will embrace one rail and the other pair the other rail, as indicated in Fig. 1. Upon the application of a bar or bars to the bolt 12 to cause the threaded ends thereof to enter the bodies 10 and 11 the draft of the heads 14: on the short arms 17 of the levers will cause the jaws to quickly and forcibly grip the rails and continued rotation of the bolt will cause said rail ends to approach each other.

Each of the pins 18 has a slotted head 18 at its upper end, and the adjacent pair of said pins are adapted to receive a carrying handle 28 having lugs 23 seated in the respective heads 18 and to which they are connected by dowel pins 2 1. By this means the entire apparatus may be readily transported by a number of men.

In order to prevent displacement of the gripping device preparatory to the application of power to the screw 12 each of the bodies 10 and 11 is provided on its lower surface with a stationary lug 25 adapted to embrace the rail head on one side and a movable and adjustable button 26 adapted to engage the head on the other side. Said button has a shank 26 screw threaded into the body to which it is connected, whereby it may be set toward or from the body a sufficient distance to accommodate it to different thicknesses of rail heads. After proper adjustment of the button 26 it may be swung through an angle of 90 as indicated in Fig. 2, so as to admit or look the rail in place.

The device may be made of any suitable size or dimensions and of any desired materials, and the specific details of construction may be modified somewhat so long as the spirit of the claims is not departed from.

We claim 1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of body members, a bolt having right and left threads connecting said members, each of said members having a circular head, a pair of gripping jaws embracing each of said heads, and a casing surrounding each of said heads and the parts immediately associated therewith.

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of body members, means to connect said members and cause them to move toward or from each other, each of said members having on one surface a stationary lug and a movable button and also including a head projected away from the aforesaid connecting means, pairs of gripping aws embracing said heads, a casing surrounding each of said heads and the parts of the jaws adjacent thereto, and pairs of vertical pins passed through said casings and constituting pivots for the jaws.

3. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a pair of body members,

means connecting said body members to cause the same to approach each other, a pair of gripping jaws associated with each of said bodies, a pair of vertical pins constituting the pivots for each pair of jaws, and a handle connected to each pair of said vertical pins, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN ULRIK LUDVIGSEN. PETER SVEISTRUP. Witnesses FRANCIS MAHONEY, CHRISTIAN N IELSON. 

